Thursday, August 29, 2013

Corruptive Influence: Justice League Dark #23

The following is my review of Justice League Dark #23, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Abstract concepts like evil are difficult to quantify in the same way
that it’s difficult to quantify the appeal of boy bands. There’s
nothing to count, measure, or touch. It’s like trying to determine the
flavor of water in that the concept itself has no depth. But it’s a
concept that is often at the center of many famous stories, going all
the way back to the days of Greek mythology. In that sense, it’s fitting
that the primary source of evil in DC’s latest event, “Trinity War”,
has been Pandora’s Box.

Even in the DC universe, evil that takes form and substance is
difficult to deal with. I’m sure Superman would much rather be punching
Brainiac’s head off than having to deal with being poisoned by some
ancient box that was literally shoved into his hands. Even for Superman,
a tangible object imbued with pure evil is too much to handle. In that
is a theme that has played out in many different ways throughout
“Trinity War”. And as Justice League Dark #23 demonstrates, such an object is too much for even the entire Justice League to handle.

Like foolish hikers that chase after a bear that just mauled a herd
of deer, the Justice League and the Justice League of America fight over
possession of Pandora’s Box. And not surprisingly, they had no better
luck at avoiding the influence of the box than Superman. It corrupts the
likes of Wonder Woman and Shazam, two heroes that, like Superman, are
supposed to be personifications of all things good. Yet this object that
isn’t much bigger than a laptop corrupts Earth’s most powerful heroes
to the point where a good portion of the comic consists of them fighting
over possession of the box. It’s like Lord of the Rings if Hobbits had
superpowers.

But “Trinity War” hasn’t just focused on ancient artifacts that can
corrupt angels and demigods. Other sources of corruption have emerged
within each respective league. Amanda Waller and the Justice League of
America may not be as evil as a sinister ancient box forged by actual
gods, but the corruption behind their heroics is every bit as damaging.
Now Waller’s intentions have been exposed for both leagues. She
organized the JLA to effectively counter the Justice League, right down
to picking heroes with certain abilities that would match or neutralize
certain members in the opposing league. She even had Firestorm learn to
make kryptonite with his powers. What makes it all the more distressing
to both leagues is that she did this in secret. And the JLA doesn’t take
too kindly to this revelation. I doubt anyone would blame Green Arrow
for threatening to shoot Waller with one of his non-boxing glove arrow.

This kind of hidden agenda is something that is only possible under
the guise of corruption. However, it’s not the same corruption caused by
Pandora’s Box. The entire conflict behind “Trinity War” has been fueled
by suspicion and paranoia about how supremely powerful beings such as
Superman can be controlled if they ever became corrupt. It’s a very real
and logical concern for those who aren’t more powerful than a
locomotive. And to an extent, Amanda Waller was vindicated at the
beginning of “Trinity War” when Superman was corrupted by Pandora’s Box.
Like Dean Rooney in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, she was right in the grand scheme of things.

Waller may claim ignorance in the face of hostility from both the
Justice League and the JLA, but on some levels she has to know that she
was right. Superman was corrupted and because of that, he may have
killed someone. Even though it was revealed several issues ago that
there is another sinister force working behind the scenes, it is still a
clear manifestation of Waller’s concerns. If there was no plan in place
to deal with a corrupted Superman, who or what could possibly stop him?
He’s Superman and his power is nothing short of god-like. Yet he’s not a
god in that he can be corrupted, as Pandora’s Box has shown. So why
shouldn’t there be a plan in place to deal with him and his team of
demigods?

While this recourse makes intuitive sense, it too is prone to
corruption. And that’s exactly how it plays out in this issue. Each
Justice League team fights for control of Pandora’s Box, getting
corrupted along the way, until they eventually reach Madam Xanadu, who
was imprisoned before she could uncover the secrets of Pandora’s Box.
She is the one that finally reveals the source behind the power of the
box. This also leads to the reveal of the sinister figure who has been
manipulating all three leagues from the beginning. And at this point, he
doesn’t even need to hide anymore. The damage has been done and he
didn’t even have to do that much. Unlike Lex Luthor, this nameless
figure works smart and lets heroes destroy themselves so he doesn’t have
to. It may seem like a lazier form of evil, but there’s no denying its
effectiveness.

This is the most telling message of “Trinity War”. In attempting to
create a balance of power between the Justice League and the JLA, both
sides became corrupted. Paranoia and fear created the circumstances
under which Pandora’s Box could be so effective. It didn’t have to be an
object of pure evil. It just needed to give these heroes the right
nudge to start attacking one another. In doing so, the corruption
ensured that they couldn’t figure out whom or what they were dealing
with until it was too late.

Justice League Dark #23 offers a painful lesson about what
happens when corruption blinds otherwise good people. Even superheroes
with all their power end up playing into the hands of a skilled
manipulator. The scale of the conflict and the potential for it to get
worse help this issue up the stakes in “Trinity War” to extreme levels.
It also shows that while kryptonite is Superman’s greatest weakness,
corruption is the greatest weakness to every hero, no matter how
powerful they are

About Me

I am a lifelong comic book fan. My favorite comic has always been X-men and my lifelong dream is to be an X-men writer. Since I'm still a ways from realizing that dream, I settle for writing my own series which I have entitled X-men Supreme.